The Waiting One
by DarkSidedAngel
Summary: Raven has been missing for 7 years. Robin has been searching for so long to find her again. There have been no signs of her for several years and he is still as desperate as he was the first night to bring her back home. A sign finally shows it self one night in the form of a waiting one. Dark and adult themed.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Waiting One**

**Chapter: I am the waiting one it seems.**

**Richard**

A pair of black eyes washed over the crowd. A small smirk lit up his 23 year old face. "I haven't always had it this good." He started off and set his non-alcohol drink on the stand in front of him. "I had once been traveling with a circus with my parents." His closest friends knew this. His smiled grew bigger when he heard a few gasps. "It was a fun life for when I was a small child, but when I hit about 10, they had died. I was alone and couldn't do a whole act on my own at the age of 10. Not to mention I wasn't even supposed to be there without my parents. They had a no pest policy and didn't hire anyone under the age of 18. The leader kicked me to the curb, even though I was related to him by blood. I was sent to an orphanage shortly after I ended up on the streets. I was 12 when we had been invited to go to Wayne manor for one of his charity events. I know now that it was just all for looks. Don't get me wrong though." He picked up his clear glass and winked at his father and took a sip. "He isn't a heartless bastard like the papers make him out to be."

He took a step back and walked around to the front of the stand and took the microphone in his other hand and put the drink down. "We all got into the same hall that you are standing in now… and lost our shit." He started to wave his arms in big circles. "Look at this. Look at that. Look at how big the windows are. I wonder if I shout if there will be an echo!" His audience laughed loudly. The few that had been there were shaking their head in disgust. There are many things that had happened that won't be mentioned….

"Well, needless to say, we were hell. Animals practically. I think the caretaker committed suicide in the bathroom. Ha ha ha just kidding Ms. James." He held the microphone close to his mouth and whispered. "We all knew she wanted to…." He took another drink. "Now for those of you who wonder what happened next…. It wasn't pretty." He sighed and hung his head a little.

"Just get on with it Richard." Bruce Wayne said with a smirk.

"Alright." He smirked and looked at his friends. "It took one clear of his throat to get us all to shut up and freeze."

"This is how you treat my kindness… I invite you into my home and you treat her like this?" Richard did in the best voice he could imitate his father with. He smiled and looked at his father. "I looked into his eyes and said. ' This isn't a home Mr. Wayne. It hasn't been your home for a long time.' And he bent down and said, 'Your right son. It hasn't been, but that doesn't make it any less important to me. Now, you and your friends are going to apologize to this house and make sure all the tables are put back where they need to be. All the forks, plates, knifes, cups, and whatever else was on the tables are put back, any broken things are to be swept up and put in the bin. Only then, shall you eat. If it isn't done by the time that everyone leaves, you will just have to come back tomorrow.' And then he shrugged and walked away. I was sure that we would have gotten beaten or something. He wasn't even mad. It was the best day of my life." He finished in a soft voice. Everyone else knew the rest of the story.

Rachel

I haven't always been this bad off. I had a father and a mother once. My mother had passed away giving birth to me so it didn't really count to know her. I had lost my father about a month ago to cancer. His name was Richard. Richard Roth. Once he found out about the cancer, we ran.

We knew that once he passed, my aunt Lux was going to take me away to where ever she lived. She had always been awful to my mother since they were little. It got worse with she married Father. We lasted five years in the woods without medicine for him. It was a slow cancer, so we thought. We came into the city every 6 months to make sure that he hadn't gotten any worse. It was when he got really sick that we knew something was wrong. We didn't understand, we had been to the hospital earlier that week and he was fine. Turns out the doctor overlooked something on his charts and it ended up killing him within a few months. There was no going back after he got sick. They had tried everything, but he was just too sick to be helped.

There were other options for where I could live. My friend's father was going to take me in. The judge didn't think that it was a good idea. She said that with my father's sickness his mind had been getting sick as well. I knew it wasn't true. She didn't know my aunt Lux. She knew nothing about her. Since I had been living in the woods the judge thought it would be a good idea to get as much human contact as I could get. Therefore I was forced to move to Gotham City. Unknown to my aunt, this is where all my friends live. Living in the woods was only part of my father's journey with me. We had lived in many different states as well.

Now, they are the only thing that is keeping me living. The judge had ruled that it was best if my mother's sister took me in and of course my aunt was sobbing at the joy, until we got into the tinted windowed car that was to take me to Gotham.

3rd person

Rachel was grabbed by the front of her shirt and brought close to her aunt the moment the door shut. "Now you listen here you fucking bitch. Here is how its going to go down. You are going to go to school. I will be the place you live at, but don't be expecting to live with me all that often. You are going to stop by every Saturday afternoon and I will let you know when the social worker will be stopping by next. I'll be nice enough to let you shower, but don't take any of my food. While you are there you are going to tell me your grades. You better be getting a 4.0 or I will kill you." Lux pushed her away and her head hit the window.

Rachel rubbed her head and put her seatbelt on. 'Not like I can't live by myself.' She laughed to herself. 'I can easily get a job and other things if she gives me her address. She thinks I will be crawling back to her I bet. Dad…. I love you.' She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the 3 hour drive to Gotham.

Richard

"Richard. Your lost again." a voice from behind me sounds. I look up to see Bruce staring at me. I looked away from him concerned eyes and stance. He was holding a cup of hot chocolate. It was Alfred own recipe, the only hot chocolate that I would ever drink. He was still wearing his favorite suit with his black and blue swirl tie, meaning that he had come here right after work. He slowly walked over to me and handed me the black cup with my symbol on it. I frowned and looked down to see the steaming whipping cream.

"I cant help it." I whispered and looked up at him when I felt his hand reach up to touch my shoulder before it actually did. He smiled sadly and pulled out something from inside the lining of his jacket.

"I thought that you might like this. I found it in one of the old scrapbooks that you had sent me when you were still with the Titans. You did great at the party son. Let me know if you leave okay..." He said and walked away back out the door, which shut behind him, leaving me in the dim lighting of my room in the mansion of Bruce Wayne. It was a picture of Raven. I had taken it the first time that she had ever drank hot chocolate. I was the only one that had ever seen a real smile out of her until the picture was taken. It was shortly after our bond was made when she entered my mind to stop Slade who turned out to be a hallucination, unrealized by me until it was almost to late. She had entered my room to see that I was alright. I had just gotten a package from Bruce and Alfred for my birthday that was the next day. She had watched me open it and smile. She had already known everything, seeing it in my mind the day before; the only reason that I let her stay. Alfred had made the hot chocolate and Bruce the container to keep it warm and safe. I had let her take the first couple of sips, quickly gotten my camera and had taken the shot. She was happy in the picture. One of the only times I had seen her truly happy, smiling even. A real Raven smile. I had only ever seen it one other time. When we had defeated Trigon.

The picture slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground. "Where are you Raven..." I said brokenheartedly as small tears fell from my eyes.

Bruce frowned as he moved away from the closed door of his adopted sons room as he heard him start to break down, fighting his own tears as he realized how much his son was hurting.


	2. Chapter 2

Richard

I closed my eyes and wiped away my tears. I took off my Nightwing suit and donned civilian clothing. Usually I would keep my costume on because after 10 pm most of the criminals like to come out and play about now, but I was in no mood to fight or do anything. I grabbed my wallet that was on my oak desk and walked down the many hallways. Alfred saw me, I knew, but neither of us said anything. It has been 13 years exactly since the day that Raven had been reporting missing according to the Titans Tower computer data base. Someone had broken into the tower and Raven put up a good fight, but there was nothing we could have done. We were all to far away and by the time that I had gotten there, it had been to late, two hours after my communicator alarm went off. I was the first one to arrive there. Starfire hadn't been able to arrive until several days after the search began. Cyborg had arrived shortly after I, him being at his collage in the next town over.

Beastboy wasn't able to come at all. He was under the command of the Doom Patrol now and according to his commander, nothing mattered from his old life. I am still able to be in contact with him every so often, when they are all away on a mission without him. Even after all this time, they still conciser him a rookie. A crappy commander and team if you ask me, but there is no way that he can leave it now. They put a tracker into his blood stream that Cyborg could get out, if only he could see him once. No one was allowed near him though. They have this possessive claim over him now and the only way to break it is by death. The tracker being removed will cause his body to shut down if cyborg doesn't have the right equipment at hand, or if he leaves, they find him and kill him themselves. He told me that if he knew that it would happen, he never would have gone back.

I shook my head trying to clear it and got onto my motorcycle . It was the only thing that I had taken when I left the Titans. It was now black; I had a similar one which I used for my Nightwing travels.

"Richard." Bruce said softly standing in front of me.

"Bruce." I said putting on my helmet.

"Be careful and don't drink. You know that you can't. Not in your condition and your past." He said looking me in the eyes. I nodded once and started my bike up, drove around him and rocketed away.

Raven

I closed my eyes as the aroma of my herbal tea hit my nose. It had the smell of mixed berries and something else that I could never put my finger on. It was my favorite fragrance in the coffee shop that I always come to when I want to think. I breathed in deeply and let everything float away from me, unseen and unheard; just how I like it. I had discovered it when I was a child when I had run off. I was angry at my father for something stupid, I didn't even remember what it was now that I think of it. I had ran in here to hide and the young female behind the counter had ran over to me and smiled.

"Hello Raven." She said softly and guided me over to a table. I didn't know or understand why I had decided to talk to the young women who knew me before I had even met her. It turned out that my mother had made very good friends with the red headed girl and had came into the coffee shop everyday just to talk to her and have tea while her grandfather, who owned the little shop that always got unnoticed by rushing civilians, worked.

My mother had come to know the small broken up family very well and became a second family to her, the first being her friends that she had lived with for a long time. My father had never told me that he got my mother pregnant at 15 years old. I asked him about it and he had said that if he could have changed it, he would have been married to her first and have had her be at least 19 before thinking about kids. She had been kicked out of her moms house at 13 and lived with friends until she had me and passed away. We were always honest with each other.

"Raven, your tea is getting cold." Samantha said next to my ear. I opened my eyes and looked out the glass window. This spot practically had my name on it, my father having the one across from mine. No one ever sat here, it was always open whenever I came in. I sighed as the little bell over the door rang signaling that the small coffee shop had another customer. I propped my head against my left hand and watched the cars drive by. I needed to get home soon. My friend would be wondering where I was by now. I love coming here after a long day at work though. It relaxes me. Tomorrow I will have to go and see my aunt again. It was always Saturday at noon. I had actually lost a few jobs because of it being at that time. I have to make it to her house before then or she will lock me out. Make her daughter repeat everything she says even though I can hear her through the phone. If I was lucky, my next meeting will be when I'm not working.

"One black coffee please and a Gotham news paper." The man ordered. I took a sip of my tea and got up, walking out of the door.

"See you Raven." Samantha said waving goodbye to me. I smiled slightly and waved back. I zipped up my light black jacket and brought up my hood as I continued to walk down the sidewalk. Gotham is no place for a girl my age to stop on the sidewalk, or anywhere for that matter. So many things could happen, I didn't even want to think about them.

Sadly, every time that I left the coffee shop I could never keep the aroma of my tea with me. It was like it wasn't allowed to ever leave. I sighed and frowned when I saw my breath. It was always cold in Gotham, I had learned from over my year of staying in this dark city. My aunt use to take me shopping here all the time with my mother and I and we had like it so much, that we had moved into an apartment building not to far from our coffee and tea get away, but even stepping outside to throw away your trash could get you killed in some parts. Mostly by the docks and where most of the major crimes are at.

"Raven!" I hear Samantha yell from the doorway of her shop. I jog back to the entrance and smiled brightly at the steaming cup in her hands. She held it out to me and I took it gladly.

"For the road." She said softly and kissed my cheek. I stared at her for a moment and nodded, starting my journey again. I turned down one of the smaller alleyways that lead to my home.

Richard

Richard's eyes scanned the rode for anything that might be lurking in the shadows when he spotted it. A raven. "Raven?" he asked aloud slightly shocked to see a raven at this time of night, and in the dwellings of bats. It crowed once and spread its black glistening wings that turned into a rainbow of colors when the light of his motorcycle hit it and ascended into the air, taking flight. He revved his engine and took off after the abnormal raven. It had a spark in its eye that wasn't there before he had said his lost best friends name. "Raven!" he shouted as he got close to the flying bird. As he was closing in on it and reached his hand out it just flew higher away from him. It looked back at him which something that he had thought birds have never done before.

_"__ I am the waiting one it seems, Days grow somber quickly, Now how the quiet is release, And I feel so lonely.__."_ a voice sings all around him. Unknown to him, it wasn't around him, but in his head. It was the song that Raven had sang down in the Underworld just before he had come upon her and frightened her. He frowned and looked around and saw no one. He looked down at the screen on his bike, but it was turned off. Richard closed his eyes and it was like a spark was ignited in his brain. The connection that he hadn't felt in over 13 years was back. It had always been there, in the back of his mind, dusty and unused for so long, he had forgotten that it was even there. It faded as soon as it had come. "No!" he yelled and stopped his bike. He had thought it was best before he or anyone else got hurt. His thoughts and emotions were everywhere and he had to gather his thoughts, but he could no longer follow the raven because it had flown away. He got off and fell to the wet ground, his hands bracing his fall.

"Hello?" a voice said from behind a brick wall. He looked up and saw... "Raven?"

She smiled softly, the warm cup of tea held by both hands. "You must mean my mother. She use to live here with her boyfriend for a few months." She explained softly. Richard quickly got up off the ground. "Who are you?" Raven asked the mysterious man. She noticed that he looked like a mess, kneeling down in the muddy water like that, water and mud splashed onto him; it covered half of his features.

"I was a friend of your mothers…." Richard said softly. ' _How can she be Raven's daughter…. She looks 13. Raven wouldn't have been able to have a daughter that young… she hasn't been gone long enough to have a daughter… I can see in a few years maybe…but not at this age…. Something is wrong._' Richard thought to himself as he stood. He frowned at how tightly he saw Raven holding her cup of tea. She must have just come from the small coffee shop that was slowly going out of business. Bruce stopped by there every morning before he went to work, even if it was completely out of his way. He was thinking about giving a pretty good sized donation, just to see it stay.

"Well, it's always nice to know someone who knew my mother. Why don't you come to the coffee shop on Sunday around 6:30 and you can tell me about how you know her. I have to get going. My aunt gets get panties in a wad if I'm late for dinner." She said and started to walk away. As far as the girl knew he was a stalker that just wanted to fulfill his sick and twisted fantasy, but at least with the cover of the coffee shop, she will be safe. She will have to let Sam know of her suspicions later. "What was your name again?" She asked him and stuck out her hand. "Im Raven Roth."

"Richard Grayson." Richard looked around and saw no one, felt no one near by. "Robin."

Raven's eyes opened wide and she took a step back. "Ri-Richard Grayson… as in…. I really have to leave now sir!" Raven gripped her tea tightly in her hand and took off running.

"Raven come back!" Richard said desperately.

"Get away form me!" Raven yelled loudly. Hopefully Sam could hear her and unlock the door. 'Run Raven….. faster!' Raven ran up to the locked door and started banging on it once she saw that it was locked. "Sam! Sam help me!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Richard_

_No!_ I thought to myself as I ran after her. _I have waited to long! I am not letting her go again!_ "Raven!" I screamed when I turned the corner. No one was there. My heart broke again. Soon, I knew, there wouldn't be anything left of it. I slowly fell to my knees for the second time that night. I had let her slip though my fingers again. Tears fell from my eyes. I had been sitting here for an hour when a cop car showed up. I was quickly put in handcuffs and taken to the sheriffs office. Raven must have gotten up the courage to call the cops and I was a fool and stayed there.

"Father..." I said once I knew that he was on the line. "I got arrested..." I said slightly light hearted. I think it was to help make it so that I wouldn't break down. Plus, everyone in the police department knows that I am important. Why the had the balls to arrest me in the first place was beyond me. I heard him sigh softly.

"What for?" He asked. I could hear him getting his coat back on.

I sighed deeply. "Harassment. Sexual Assault, anything that she can think of. I'll explain when you get here..." the panic was starting to settle in. I was guided back to my cell and I sat in the middle of the floor with my legs crossed. I closed my eyes and dived into my mind like Raven had taught me.

_Robin sighed deeply. "I'm not doing it right Raven. How do you do this again?"_

_Raven opened one of her eyes to look sideways at her best friend. "It's simple. Close your eyes and think of a pathway. It can be any color, smooth or rough. It is usually the first thing that comes to your mind when I say 'pathway'. For instance, mine is green with very few rocks on the side, darkness surrounding it. It could be anything really. Once you have your pathway, start walking. " She closed her eye and continued walking down her pathway._

**Richard walked down a stone pathway with buildings that he has only ever seen in his mind. There were many doors. He had been metitating almost everyday now and didn't have to think much of the doors. He had been in each of them anyway. What he was looking for ( like he was every day for the past 7 years ) was a blue strand. It has always been there in his mind. Finding it was the hard part. Following it, was even harder. This strand was the link between him and Raven. It was more then just a mental bond that they shared. That is why Richard is able to see it.  
**

**"_Why are you here?" _He heard a voice with a slight echo say around him. He stopped in the middle of his pathway, an orange building to his left and a green one to his right. He saw a raven by an old wooden building a few feet away to the left. "_Have you come to find her at last?"_ it asked.**

**"I have been looking for her every day since she went missing!" Richard said angrily. The raven was always here. Taunting him.  
**

**"_She has never been here since. Why are you so insistent that she is here?" _The Raven asked.**

**"I know she is here. I can feel her. I saw her today!" Richard insisted. The ravens head tilted to the side.**

**_"Are you sure about that boy-o?" _The raven laughed and flew off. Richard scoffed and kept walking.**

**HEY!**

**Richard turned around and frowned. The shout had been coming from the way that he had come.**

**I'm talking to you!**

**Richard closed his eyes and looked around for the blue strand. Not finding it, he decided to look again when he got home and not in a jail cell.**

Richard opened his eyes to see a drunk man in front of him. "Yes?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"I was talking to you..." He slurred. Richard nodded slightly.

"I was aware. What do you want?" he asked.

"Don't... act all tough boy." The drunk swayed slightly and Richard got up from the middle of the floor and made him sit down.

"You really aren't in the condition to fight me. The best thing for you to do is to rest." He said and walked to the window. He could feel his father walking down the hall. He was angry, but not at him. He knew that Richard would never do anything like what Raven had accused.

"It really was just all protocol Bruce. I am very sorry to have ruined your date this evening..." The chief was saying.

"Its quite alright. I just don't want to have my son spend a night in jail." Bruce said softly.

Richard sighed softly and stepped through the doorway when it was opened. " I am correct to say that everything has been dropped right?" He asked the chief.

"Yes. Yes of course. I am sorry for inconviencing you Richard." He said hurriedly.

"Yes, I understand. Now if you will excuse me, I have something to discus with my father."

**Back at Wayne Mannor**

Bruce frowned deeply leaning on his desk. "So she was fine until you mentioned your name." He looked up at his son in concern. "You are sure that it is her right? No mistake."

"Father, how many girls of this world to you think look like that?" He asked and pointed to the picture of the Teen Titans in their civilian clothing. "And have her looks be what she was born with. It was her father. She said she was Raven's daughter. If Raven had a kid her age she would have had to have her at the age of 9. I know its her." Richard said softly. "I need to go find her..."

Bruce sighed softly. "Richard. You need to take this slow. We need to back track to when she went missing. Look over everything we have found and go from there. Make sure we didn't miss anything. We didn't even look into the possibility that she could have had a child. She could just look older then what she really is."

Richard angerily stood up. "I don't need to go over the case again. I know it like the back of my hand. I know it like I was there the night it happened! She doesn't have a kid father. I would know! I would have- " Richard stopped and turned away. "Never mind, we will do it your way..."

**With Raven**

Raven paced the small room that she was in. She shared the same bed with her best friend Sky. She had lived with her and her mother ever since they found her a few weeks after living on her own in the city. She had gotten a job at their restaurant just down the street the day she had arrived. Sky had found her sleeping on a bench when she was on a date with her girlfriend and had insisted that she come live with her. They had found out about her past and her aunt pretty quickly after that. It took them a whole month to drop the subject of going to the police. Things had been much better since then.

Sky isn't like most people. Her hair is always cut short and is dyed a strange color. She mostly wears black like Raven, but on special ocations she likes to dress up and come out of her shell. They had a party coming up next week and Sky was planning on dying her hair blue and wearing a very stunning blue dress that matched. Its suppose to be Raven's 15th birthday. Raven didn't know there was going to be a party thrown in her honor. Sky was setting up all the details and with her mothers help, they were going to be hosting it at their apartment.

"Richard Grayson is a very bad man. My father would tell me about their fights that he and my mother had and most of them turned physical. She almost lost me because of one of them. I didn't know what to do so I just ran back to the coffee shop and called the police. He is a very important man in the city..." Raven frowned and ran her hands through her long hair. She turned back to Sky and frowned. "I told him that I would meet him on Sunday so he could tell me about my mother... but... I don't know if I should go... I mean what if he really is who Father told me about. I just... I have a feeling that I should know him, trust him maybe..." Raven threw up her hands in defeat and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Well, from what you have told me about what your father said, he sounds like a bad person. I don't want you getting hurt... but it's your choice... and if you go, then I am going as well. I'm not going to let you die on me. Just don't tell daddy. I really don't want him to freak out on us again." She rolled her eyes and frowned slightly. "You have to go see your Aunt tomorrow." Sky said softly.

Raven nodded slightly and laid so her back was on the bed. She used her arms to spread her hair around her head. "I know..." She whispered. She turned her head to look out the window and sat up quickly. It was the raven that she had seen just before she saw Richard Grayson. "Sky..." She dragged out uncertain of what to do. It was just staring at her with red eyes. "It's that raven I was telling you about..."

Sky got up and went to the window to look out, but once she got into Raven's line of sight, it was gone. "I don't see anything Rae." Sky said slightly confused. She opened the window and quickly shut it, running back to the safety of warmth. She hugged Raven around the waist. "Don't open the window..." She whispered.

"What? Why?!" Raven asked startled.

"Its cold outside..." Sky whispered. Raven sighed and smacked her own forehead.

"Fine, I wont." She said light hearted and laid back down. She frowned and kept looking out the window until she fell asleep.

**Victor**

"Mr. Stone, you have a phone call from a Mr. Grayson... line 1." Victors secretary said at his front desk. He pushed the button to answer her back.

"Thank you Mrs. Stone." He said softly and picked up the phone to answer his old leader. "Hello Richard." He said softly and leaned back in his chair. "What do I owe the pleasure of this call."

"I found her." Richard asked on his end of the line. Victor pushed the button that closed the draped to his office.

"Just a moment." He said and pushed 648 on his phone. "Cancel whatever I have for today Mrs. Stone."

"Already done Sir." His wife told him softly.

"Go." Victor said softly.

"Yesterday was the anniversary that she went missing. I was depressed and went out for a drive. I saw her raven that she uses to signal. I followed it, but lost it and the next thing I know I see her standing halfway behind a brick wall. It's her Cyborg. I know it is, I felt it. I need you to go back to the tower and get me a few things. There's - "

"Wait hold on a minute. You thought you saw her in the woods a few years ago. We searched for months. We didn't find her. And everything has been taken out of the tower. Its going to be condemned in the next few days. There is nothing there that I can get. Not to mention I am about to go out on a case in Gotham that I can't just drop everything for you. Those times are past. Now I can give you the storage containment where everything is, but you will have to go yourself. I will try and help you when I get back but it's not a guaranty. " Victor frowned slightly, waiting for him to respond.

"I got you the position on the BAU so that you would be able to drop everything and go and look for her when I couldn't. Have you forgotten that?!" He yelled at him.

"And have you forgotten that I'm not completely human Richard?" He countered. "I'm looking into it okay. If there is anything to be found, you will be the first one to know. I will have it sent over to your fathers data bases when it comes in. And the next time you threaten me Robin, will be the last time that I answer to your calls. And just do you know. You aren't the only one that loved her asshole. Goodbye." Victor sighed and put the phone down. There was a knock at his door and his wife came in.

"Are you ready for the case dear?" She asked softly and walked around his desk so she could kiss him.

"As ready as I will ever be..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Richard**

Beep

Beep

Beeeeeep

My eyes opened at the sound, but it was like I had never slept. My head was pounding. I rubbed at my eyes to get the tired feeling to go away, but it didn't. Sometimes you go to sleep thinking about something, wishing that when you wake up that you have forgotten, even for a moment. I didn't have that moment. I remembered everything from last night. I suppose it was better this way. When you forget something, but remember it a few moments later, it depresses you and you long to forget again, but it just makes it worse. You immediately lose that moment of joy. At least when you wake up remembering, there is no moment of joy.

"Master Richard." Alfred said at my door. He walked in and opened the curtains. The light was blinding. I hated it. In this dark city. This evil city, some people say, it was nice, more then nice to wake up to sun in the morning, but not today. The sane part of me, Nightwing, tells me that I have to wait and watch, just like always. The not so sane, Richard, who was lost, and watched his parents die right in front of him, wanted to get Raven and bring her here as fast as possible. I knew in the end, Nightwing would win. He always does. Being in Jump, I had forgotten that it was best to be silent. Silent, Stealth and Deadly. I had learned that from Batman the first day I had met him. I didn't even know he was Batman at the time, but I had taken it to heart and practiced every chance that I got. I had forgotten because I didn't need to be silent. Everyone that I fought with my team was always loud and easily beatable. Everyone but Slade and Red X. We never did catch them. Slade was killed by Raven before she went missing.

**Bruce**

This is what I know.

The Raven that Richard saw last night, is not the Raven he has been searching for. She is in fact, Raven's daughter, Raven Roth. Her father worked as a hunter to help control the population of animals that were starting to take over. He died of cancer a year ago and Raven has been living with her aunt ever since. There were only report cards that I could get a hold of. Seems like her father kept her hidden for about 5 years, but from what. There were no tax records or payments of anything that showed they lived in one place. There were payments every six months for clothing and food, sometimes medicine. They must have been on the run, but from what….. I don't know... yet.

I sighed deeply and rubbed at my tried eyes. I am use to not getting sleep because I was to distracted on getting the criminals under control in Gotham, but it has never been for someone as close as Richard is to me. It made me work that much harder. I don't even know why I was searching for answers so desperately. Maybe it was because I knew he was hurting and if maybe, I found the answers, I could help him not hurt anymore… I couldn't do much last time because I didn't know how to be a father. I didn't know how to help him. I know now that I should have pushed more to become part of his life.

"Master Bruce, Master Richard is awake." Alfred said as he walked into the kitchen. I nodded slightly and finished making my coffee.

"Thank you Alfred." I said softly. Alfred suddenly turned to me.

"What are we going to do with him? You know he is going to go on a rampage if we try and keep him here." Alfred said, worried for my sons well being.

"I have a plan. We will discuss it over breakfast. I am taking today off. He needs us right now." I said and started to help make breakfast. I liked to cook when I was worried about something and wasn't searching for answers.

**Raven at the Park**

"Rae~" I hear behind me. It's a soft voice, always slightly singing my name when he first greets me. I turned around and hugged the second person I knew I could trust. Only he and Sky could keep me sane. My world had turned upside down since last night after seeing someone from my mother's past. I have dreamed about him last night. He looked different then what I saw last night. Younger, loud. Something was different about his personality, but he didn't seem like the man my father had told me about.

I have never hugged Syn.

I have never even made physical contact with him, so I wasn't surprised when he stiffened and didn't know what to do as I stood there, crying into his chest. His arms slowly wrapped around my shoulders and he held me tightly to him. I had always had a connection to him since the first day I had met him. We had bumped into each other. He knocked my stuff down, we both went to pick it up. You know how it goes in the movies and its really cheesy and they end up falling in love. Well it started my friendship with Syn. It was my first day and I knew no one. He offered to take me to my first class, but I didn't let him. It was a slow starting process. He knows everything about me, including why I have never made physical contact with him. When I touch someone, I feel their emotions all at once, sometimes memories come with them. It started about a year ago and I can't explain it.

His hand slowly started to pet the back of my hair. I gripped the front of his jacket and just cried. Sky had to work this morning. Her mom had given me the day off because she knew I had to go meet my aunt. I had an hour.

**Raven of the Past**

They have all left me now. I can feel the emptiness of the tower and it's eating at me. I had always hoped that nothing would change. That the future that Starfire had seen would never come true. I never wanted to be alone. It is why I made the journey to Earth, so that I wouldn't be alone, like I had been my entire life. I thought about contacting Robin everyday. He was the one that really knew me. He has been gone for 6 months and has said nothing to me. Beast Boy is all but dead. He was foolish to go back to his old life. Now they have complete control over him.

Cyborg comes over every Saturday at noon to give me food and whatever else I may need. I leave a list of what I need for him to pick up at the civilian door at the base of the tower. Every Saturday at 12:30 I go down and look into the box. Everything that I have asked for is in it. I leave another note, thanking him. Each time I tell him that he can come in whenever he wants. He is hooked up to the towers data base for crying out loud. He can do whatever he wants to the place. He never comes in.

I miss everyone. I wish they would come back to me. I know this will never happen.

**Raven**

I knock three times. Always three. And since they never answer me when I knock, I call my aunt. "What do you want?!" She screams in her drunken rage. I always use a different phone. There is a convince store that is close to where I live. They have phones that are able to make just two calls. I buy one every Saturday morning before I go to the park and meet Syn. Sky is usually with me when I come here, but not today. I am never early or late.

"It's Raven. I'm here like always. Can you have your daughter open the door for me or is she just going to stand there looking at me through the drapes." I said in a hard voice. I hear ruffling and she yells at her daughter to open the door. My cousin unlocks it and runs up to her room. I pull out my grades. I get a 4.0 just like she asks, but now she gets angry, but I don't do it to impress her. I do it for me and my mother and father. To show them that I can be the person they wanted me to be. I walk into the front room and sit down by my aunt. We trade papers and she starts yelling at me. I look at the days that the social worker will be coming over to the house. Tomorrow at 6:30. The time I was going to meet my mothers 'Old friend'.

"Are you sure this is right? They have never come on Sundays." I said softly and ducked away from a blow to the head. I have given up the no talking rule. Its not like she will call the cops on me. She runs a drug business through her kitchen. Every once in a while when I can tell her boyfriend is really out of it, I take some and sell it to get a bit of extra cash. I don't even know if they notice it missing.

"That's what she said." My aunt said when she didn't hit me. Somehow she remembers each one of my visits, but forgets her kids name half the time. I kinda feel bad for the kid, but she treats me like shit, so I don't feel to bad.

"Alright. I'll be here. What should I wear?" I asked softly.

"I don't care..." She said and looked over my grades. " Start doing bad is school or you will get your ass kicked." She said softly.

"Yes Aunty." I said and stood up. "Thank you for the list. I'll see myself out." I stood up and walked out the door as quickly as I could. This has been the best visit that I have been to in the year that I have been here.

**Richard**

Father said that he knew I wouldn't be able to stay home knowing that Raven was out there in Gotham. He gave me rules to not talk to her, not be seen. So basically I was to be a creepy as fuck stalker and now that Cy wasn't going to be any help, I had no back up. There was a team that he had assigned for the disappearance of Raven, but the commander of the project was going with him on his case up here. Maybe I can catch them and just ask for advice. I'm the tracking type, not the dealing with missing people type. Fresh tracking I can do, but cases that have been open for a while, I have no clue where to start.

So, here I was, looking at Raven leaving her aunts house with a paper in her hand. She used the allyways to her advantage, I will give her that. It must be what her father taught her when they were on the run.

"Richard." I heard a voice in my ear piece. "I found a picture of her shortly after she was taken from the tower. The same day in fact. Trail her until you know where she lives.

"I found it. I'll head over there now." How could we have missed a picture of her on the day that she was taken. We were able to get access to all of the street records in Jump and in Gotham. I spent months looking for any sign of her.

I started to head back to the house and sighed softly. She was definitely _my_ Raven's daughter. I bit my lip and continued driving. I got there in no time.

I grabbed a few drinks from the fridge, nodded to Alfred and headed to my fathers computer room.

What I saw was a picture of Raven outside a cafe. She was wearing normal clothing, but I could definitely tell that she was with a child. The bump on her stomach was clear enough. She was wearing a tan leather jacket, snow was around her. A scarf was covering her mouth and nose and she had a hat on that seemed to big for her. The picture made her look happy because she was touching her bulging stomach. Her eyes showed the fear she was feeling. I grabbed the picture from the table and looked at it closely. She looked to be about 16. The age she went missing. "Where did you get this..." I asked slowly.

"It was dropped by my office this morning. It was there when I got there so I don't know who placed it on my desk. That is her, isn't it?" Bruce asked.

"Yes..." I whispered. "She disappeared about 7 months after I had left to come back here for a little... I..." I closed my eyes softly. "I didn't mean to be away that long..." I put the picture down softly on the desk so I wouldn't crush it in my hands. "I knew..." I whispered. "I knew and I still stayed... Father I'm so horrible... I'm such a horrible person..." I banged my hand over the picture and broke out into a sob. "How could I have left her?! How could I have left her and the baby?! MY BABY!" I screamed and fell to the ground gripping my hair. I pulled slightly and my breathing picked up. I lost it. I lost her. The baby. My life...

"You mean to tell me that you stayed when you knew you had an unborn child out there?! WHEN YOU FOUND OUT YOU SHOULD HAVE RUSHED TO THE GIRLS SIDE RICHARD! I would have gotten by!" Bruce slammed his fist on the desk to keep from hitting me.

"I would have but I didn't know how to be a father! I didn't want to be one at 17! I was scared shitless!" I yelled and started to shake.

"AND YOU THINK SHE WANTED TO BE A MOTHER AT 16?! How many phone calls did you not answer. Or messages. Or anything Richard. That baby would have been loved unconditionally by me and Alfred and whoever it met. And if you didn't want to be a father you shouldn't have been having sex with her! That is what happens Richard!"

"YOU DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!? YOU DON'T THINK I WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN IT BACK IF I COULD?! I WOULD HAVE GIVEN ANYTHING DAD! SHE DIDN'T WANT TO BE A MOTHER! SHE WANTED TO GET RID OF IT AND I WOULDN'T LET HER! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE A FATHER, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WASN'T GOING TO BE THE BEST GODDAMN FATHER I COULD HAVE BEEN! _It kills me inside everyday to think about Raven and the baby we could have had if I had just gone there when she asked but I was to fucking focused on the case I was working on with you that I could care less. Its killing me dad and now I found her and I have to get her back..."_ I couldn't speak any longer. He left me there, sobbing uncontrollably in his office without a word.


	5. Chapter 5

Richard

Beep

Beep

Beeeeeep

My eyes opened at the sound, but it was like I had never slept. My head was pounding. I rubbed at my eyes to get the tired feeling to go away, but it didn't. Sometimes you go to sleep thinking about something, wishing that when you wake up that you have forgotten, even for a moment. I didn't have that moment. I remembered everything from last night. I suppose it was better this way. When you forget something, but remember it a few moments later, it depresses you and you long to forget again, but it just makes it worse. You immediately lose that moment of joy. At least when you wake up remembering, there is no moment of joy.

"Master Richard." Alfred said at my door. He walked in and opened the curtains. The light was blinding. I hated it. In this dark city. This evil city, some people say, it was nice, more then nice to wake up to sun in the morning, but not today. The sane part of me, Nightwing, tells me that I have to wait and watch, just like always. The not so sane, Richard, who was lost, and watched his parents die right in front of him, wanted to get Raven and bring her here as fast as possible. I knew in the end, Nightwing would win. He always does. Being in Jump, I had forgotten that it was best to be silent. Silent, Stealth and Deadly. I had learned that from Batman the first day I had met him. I didn't even know he was Batman at the time, but I had taken it to heart and practiced every chance that I got. I had forgotten because I didn't need to be silent. Everyone that I fought with my team was always loud and easily beatable. Everyone but Slade and Red X. We never did catch them. Slade was killed by Raven before she went missing.

Bruce

This is what I know.

The Raven that Richard saw last night, is not the Raven he has been searching for. She is in fact, Raven's daughter, Raven Roth. Her father worked as a hunter to help control the population of animals that were starting to take over. He died of cancer a year ago and Raven has been living with her aunt ever since. There were only report cards that I could get a hold of. Seems like her father kept her hidden for about 5 years, but from what. There were no tax records or payments of anything that showed they lived in one place. There were payments every six months for clothing and food, sometimes medicine. They must have been on the run, but from what….. I don't know... yet.

I sighed deeply and rubbed at my tried eyes. I am use to not getting sleep because I was to distracted on getting the criminals under control in Gotham, but it has never been for someone as close as Richard is to me. It made me work that much harder. I don't even know why I was searching for answers so desperately. Maybe it was because I knew he was hurting and if maybe, I found the answers, I could help him not hurt anymore… I couldn't do much last time because I didn't know how to be a father. I didn't know how to help him. I know now that I should have pushed more to become part of his life.

"Master Bruce, Master Richard is awake." Alfred said as he walked into the kitchen. I nodded slightly and finished making my coffee.

"Thank you Alfred." I said softly. Alfred suddenly turned to me.

"What are we going to do with him? You know he is going to go on a rampage if we try and keep him here." Alfred said, worried for my sons well being.

"I have a plan. We will discuss it over breakfast. I am taking today off. He needs us right now." I said and started to help make breakfast. I liked to cook when I was worried about something and wasn't searching for answers.

Raven at the Park

"Rae~" I hear behind me. It's a soft voice, always slightly singing my name when he first greets me. I turned around and hugged the second person I knew I could trust. Only he and Sky could keep me sane. My world had turned upside down since last night after seeing someone from my mother's past. I have dreamed about him last night. He looked different then what I saw last night. Younger, loud. Something was different about his personality, but he didn't seem like the man my father had told me about.

I have never hugged Syn before now.

I have never even made physical contact with him, so I wasn't surprised when he stiffened and didn't know what to do as I stood there, crying into his chest. His arms slowly wrapped around my shoulders and he held me tightly to him. I had always had a connection to him since the first day I had met him. We had bumped into each other. He knocked my stuff down, we both went to pick it up. You know how it goes in the movies and its really cheesy and they end up falling in love. Well it started my friendship with Syn. It was my first day and I knew no one. He offered to take me to my first class, but I didn't let him. It was a slow starting process. He knows everything about me, including why I have never made physical contact with him. When I touch someone, I feel their emotions all at once, sometimes memories come with them. It started about a year ago and I can't explain it.

His hand slowly started to pet the back of my hair. I gripped the front of his jacket and just cried. Sky had to work this morning. Her mom had given me the day off because she knew I had to go meet my aunt. I had an hour.

"I... I met the bad man." I whispered once I got control over myself.

Raven of the Past

They have all left me now. I can feel the emptiness of the tower and it's eating at me. I had always hoped that nothing would change. That the future that Starfire had seen would never come true. I never wanted to be alone. It is why I made the journey to Earth, so that I wouldn't be alone, like I had been my entire life. I thought about contacting Robin everyday. He was the one that really knew me. He has been gone for 6 months and has said nothing to me. Beast Boy is all but dead. He was foolish to go back to his old life. Now they have complete control over him.

Cyborg comes over every Saturday at noon to give me food and whatever else I may need. I leave a list of what I need for him to pick up at the civilian door at the base of the tower. Every Saturday at 12:30 I go down and look into the box. Everything that I have asked for is in it. I leave another note, thanking him. Each time I tell him that he can come in whenever he wants. He is hooked up to the towers data base for crying out loud. He can do whatever he wants to the place. He never comes in.

I miss everyone. I wish they would come back to m ebut, I know this will never happen.

Raven

I knock three times. Always three. And since they never answer me when I knock, I call my aunt. "What do you want?!" She screams in her drunken rage. I always use a different phone. There is a convince store that is close to where I live. They have phones that are able to make just two calls. I buy one every Saturday morning before I go to the park and meet Syn. Sky is usually with me when I come here, but not today because she had to cover someones shift. I am never early or late.

"It's Raven. I'm here like always. Can you have your daughter open the door for me or is she just going to stand there looking at me through the drapes." I said in a hard voice. I hear ruffling and she yells at her daughter to open the door. My cousin unlocks it and runs up to her room. I pull out my grades. I get a 4.0 just like she asks, but now she gets angry, but I don't do it to impress her. I do it for me and my mother and father. To show them that I can be the person they wanted me to be. I walk into the front room and sit down by my aunt. We trade papers and she starts yelling at me. I look at the days that the social worker will be coming over to the house. Tomorrow at 6:30. The time I was going to meet my mothers 'Old friend'.

Are you sure this is right? They have never come on Sundays." I said softly and ducked away from a blow to the head. I have given up the no talking rule. Its not like she will call the cops on me. She runs a drug business through her kitchen. Every once in a while when I can tell her boyfriend is really out of it, I take some and sell it to get a bit of extra cash. I don't even know if they notice it missing.

That's what she said. My aunt said when she didn't suceed to hit me. Somehow she remembers each one of my visits, but forgets her kids name half the time. I kinda feel bad for the kid, but she treats me like shit, so I don't feel to bad.

"Alright. I'll be here. What should I wear?" I asked softly.

"I don't care..." She said and looked over my grades. " Start doing bad is school or you will get your ass kicked." She said softly.

"Yes Aunty." I said and stood up. "Thank you for the list. I'll see myself out." I stood up and walked out the door as quickly as I could. This has been the best visit that I have been to in the year that I have been here.

Richard

Father said that he knew I wouldn't be able to stay home knowing that Raven was out there in Gotham. He gave me rules to not talk to her, not be seen. So basically I was to be a creepy as fuck stalker and now that Cy wasn't going to be any help, I had no back up. There was a team that he had assigned for the disappearance of Raven, but the commander of the project was going with him on his case up here. Maybe I can catch them and just ask for advice. I'm the tracking type, not the dealing with missing people type. Fresh tracking I can do, but cases that have been open for a while, I have no clue where to start.

So, here I was, looking at Raven leaving her aunts house with a paper in her hand. She used the allyways to her advantage, I will give her that. It must be what her father taught her when they were on the run.

"Richard." I heard a voice in my ear piece. "I found a picture of her shortly after she was taken from the tower. The same day in fact. Trail her until you know where she lives."

"I found it. I'll head over there now." How could we have missed a picture of her on the day that she was taken. We were able to get access to all of the street records in Jump and in Gotham. I spent months looking for any sign of her.

I started to head back to the house and sighed softly. She was definitely myRaven's daughter. I bit my lip and continued driving. I got there in no time.

I grabbed a few drinks from the fridge, nodded to Alfred and headed to my fathers computer room.

What I saw was a picture of Raven outside a cafe. She was wearing normal clothing, but I could definitely tell that she was with a child. The bump on her stomach was clear enough. She was wearing a tan leather jacket, snow was around her. A scarf was covering her mouth and nose and she had a hat on that seemed to big for her. The picture made her look happy because she was touching her bulging stomach. Her eyes showed the fear she was feeling. I grabbed the picture from the table and looked at it closely. She looked to be about 16. The age she went missing. "Where did you get this..." I asked slowly.

"It was dropped by my office this morning. It was there when I got there so I don't know who placed it on my desk. That is her, isn't it?" Bruce asked.

"Yes..." I whispered. "She disappeared about 7 months after I had left to come back here for a little... I..." I closed my eyes softly. "I didn't mean to be away that long..." I put the picture down softly on the desk so I wouldn't crush it in my hands. "I didn't know..." I whispered. "I didn't know that she was pregant. How could I have been so stupid.. Father I'm so horrible... I'm such a horrible person..." I banged my hand over the picture and broke out into a sob. "How could I have left her?! How could I have left her and the baby?! MY BABY!" I screamed and fell to the ground gripping my hair. I pulled back slightly and my breathing picked up. I lost it. I lost her. The baby. My life...

"You didn't know she was going to have your child... Why wouldn't she tell you?" Bruce slammed his fist on the desk. He was just ask upset over this as I was. He has always wanted grandchildren that he can spoil.

"It kills me inside to think about Raven and the baby we could have had if I had just gone there when she asked but I was to fucking focused on the case I was working on with you that I could care less when I was coming back. Back then I would do anything to solve casses. If it was now.. I would drop everything and go to her when she asked... Its killing me dad and now I found her and get her back..."

I couldn't speak any longer. He left me there, sobbing uncontrollably in his office without a word.


	6. Chapter 6

THIS IS A VERY DARK CHAPTER DON'T READ THE END IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT.

So, I had abandoned this a year ago and thought, what the hell, I'll read it again. Well, I have decided to pick it up again. The chapters that are up so far have been redone so there are some new things.

Enjoy.

Raven

The cup is warm in my hands, just as it always is. My eyes were currently closed and my hands were wrapped loosely around the cup. There was an old couple sitting at the bar enjoying a warm alcoholic beverage that was imported from Japan every so often to the little tea shop hidden behind massive building that are known to the Gotham city folk. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my ankles out in front of me and looked out the window of the small shop. It was at the end of a small market alleyway. Mostly is was the home of small trades and trinket making people. There was a nice young lady in her early twenties that made a living of selling hand bags and sweaters. I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and a scarf that a customer at the restaurant had given me as a gift. She was a sweet old lady and came in every morning for coffee with her lady friends. They all know me by name and me, them. I even have coffee with them sometimes with the bosses permission of course.

No matter how hard I tried... I couldn't get Richard Grayson out of my head. I knew I had acted foolishly in calling the cops. He had done nothing to me. Now that I think about it, I don't even think he touched me at all. Father had warned me about him though. He was a rich kid, spoild to the bone and would take advantage of me if he could. Or so father had said. But what I saw... wasn't the evil person that father had said he was. I had seen an almost crazy desperation to find the person that he had lost.

"Raven come back!" Richard said desperately.

I remember the fear and loneliness in his eyes. It had felt like a day had gone by with me just staring into those eyes. I had been contacted by the police shortly after Sky had fallen asleep. It took them three hours to arrest him. I guess it was a hard decision to arrest him. Turns out they would look stupid not to and would have gotten in trouble with someone higher up. No one likes to arrest one of their own members of the police force I guess. But three hours really? Does that even happen?

"I was a friend of your mother's..."

"R-Ri-R-Rich-Rich-ch-ch-chard-aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrd Gr-Gray-Gray-ay-son" The grip on my cup got tighter as my head tried to wrap itself around the name of Richard Grayson.

My head felt like it was going to explode. It hurt so badly. I felt something warm on my hand and arm and then on my stomach and lap. I had crushed my cup in my hands, but I didn't feel the burn of the hot liquid anywhere on my body. I was shaking so badly that my hands seemed like a blur. There was muffled screams all around me, but I all I cared about was the name Richard Grayson. That name, Grayson, had more then just fear in the meaning of it. There was love somewhere deeply buried inside me. The world slowed down to almost a halt as I was dragged to the ground and my clothing started to be ripped from my body. I didn't fight. I don't remember where I was or what was really happening to me. I saw a figure in the window with the same desperate, pain filled eyes. He didn't move. He could only press his body against the glass and watch. Don't Leave Me. How long I've waited, Waited for you... To come back to hold me... Don't Leave ME!

I lost myself to the darkness that had been trying to overtake me. I watched as darkness faded around me, but I couldn't help but think...

Why did I say those lines from a song?

Richard

She had said lines from her favorite song from when she was still a titan. I didn't know if the shields that had been put in place were weakening, but it was a start. I didn't know if she would even remember opening her mind up to me when she woke up. I didn't know what would happen. I just hoped that it was good.

"Master Richard..." Alfred said softly. I stood up quickly and walked over to him.

"How is she..." I asked in the most level voice that I could manage. Nightwing was telling me she was perfectly fine. Her skin might be a little sore, but nothing that a small does of pain medicine couldn't fix. The tea wasn't that hot. Richard, wasn't fairing so well... If you asked Nightwing, he would tell you that he wanted to smack the shit out of me. Knock me out maybe... Richard was in a state of panic for the woman that he loved. To see her thrashing around like that after she had past out was terrifying, but he couldn't help her and it killed him.

"She will be fine Master Richard..." Alfred said softly. I nodded and went to rush into her room, but he grabbed my arm with slightly more force then I thought he had in him and stopped me in my tracks. Richard was beyond angry, but Nightwing knew that he couldn't enter. She called the fucking cops on me for crying out loud.

"I want you to leave the girl alone and go to your own room to get some rest. Master Bruce's orders. I will come get you if she awakens." I didn't move and tightened my muscles to defy him. His grip got stronger and he lightly pushed me away and a few feet down the hall. "Now. Master Richard..." He said evenly with a hint of... command...? I frowned and gave in a strange look before I complied. Alfred has never acted that way towards me. I was in shock to say the least...

Alfred

I watched Richard leave in total disbelief of my behavior. I know I might have acted a bit rash, but Raven's safety was my main concern and from what Master Bruce has told me and from my own investigation I had learned that Raven had been brainwashed. I quickly went back into Raven's room and sat down next to her bed. She smiled brightly at me upon my entry.

"Hello Sweet one." I said softly and patted her hand. I made her favorite tea when I realized she was waking up.

"I missed you Alfred." She whispered softly and took my hand in both of hers. "I can't believe you are really here... I haven't seen you for several years... Not since Daddy fired you." She said softly.

"I know dear one... I know..." he said softly and kissed her hand. "But we are together again and that is all that matters. I have many things to tell you. Many things that will be hard for you to hear, but we will get there slowly." I told her and stood up and poured her some tea. I handed her the delicate china and she sipped softly at it. I watched with a small smile on her lips as she closed her eyes. She always made that face when taking the first sip of a new cup of tea.

"Daddy had no right to fire you the way he did. It was horrible!" She almost spelt her tea in her excitement, but recovered it at the last moment. She would never waste tea, not even a drop. It was like her child I suppose. Now that makes it sound awful. She drinks her child... no no... its more like a cell phone to normal teen age folk.

"He thought he had reason. But don't let that cloud your judgement. Once you were rushed to the hospital I knew I had to get you out of there. It was no place for you. Not when I can take care of you Sweet One..." I said softly and moved a strand of stray hair out of the way of her hair.

"Thank you Alfred." She said softly and leaned her head into my hand. I caressed her cheek and smiled softly.

"Now, tell me everything since I have been gone My Lady..." I said softly.

Bruce

For two years, Alfred had been on a mission. Raven had been found and I had sent Alfred to go under cover to retrieve her. When I found out that she was younger and brainwashed I knew that it was going to be harder to make her see reason. Brainwashing is a hard thing to break. Luckily, Alfred got there just in time before it was completely in place for the rest of her life. He had hacked into the computer that was controlling the brainwashing and found out that she had lost the baby after it had been born. It was a healthy baby girl, born at 8 months and 2 days. A little early, but nothing to be concerned about. Grant had delivered the baby...

Slowly, she will be coming out of her brainwashed state. I had hopped that it would be without my son in the way, but that is unavoidable now. Alfred was lucky to have not been killed the day that Grant found out who he really was. Raven had been there the day that he got found out and was forced to make it looked like he had been fired. Alfred hasn't left the manor since his return. He would surly be dead.

Raven in the past

I can't take this pain anymore. It hurts so much... so much... Richard please come... please you have to see our baby... please... save her...

"Come on... she is almost here." Grant said. I sobbed loudly and gripped at the sheets, pushing one last time as Rachel came into the world. Her loud cries hit my ears like music and I laughed and sobbed at the same time. Grant gave her to me and I held her close. I didn't care that she hadn't been cleaned off. I hugged her to me and held her crying form. A lump formed in my throat at the thought of Richard not being here. Not being able to hold our baby girl.

Cry...

Cry...

Her cries seemed endless until I kissed her forehead. She stopped immediately.

Suddenly she was ripped from my arms by her neck as Grant swung her closer to him. A sickening smile spreak across his face as he held up one of my dagger. Fear shot through me as I saw my baby being held like that, her air supply being cut off.

He slowly cut an 'x' over her heart with the dagger.

I could do nothing but scream my lungs out as I was chained to the bed. I could do nothing but watch as my baby's body went limp in his hand. He held her out to me, just out of my reach.

Shlick.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed at the top on my lungs. My heart broke into a tiny million little pieces. My chest lifted off the table with my gut wrenching sobs. They are all I heard as I held my dead baby in my arms, a knife stuck in her back, pericing her heart. It was thrown from the entryway. I had no way of stopping it. Of knowing that it was going to hit her. Slade had done something to my powers. I was useless. I was dead. I was dead. I was dead. I am dead. There is nothing worth living for now... Life is worthless...

Bruce

Alfred learned what had happened to Raven and Richard's child. He was to horrified to tell me the day that he got back. Not even a year later was he able to tell me. It was only when I showed him the picture of Raven touching her bulging stomach. The one I knew for a fact was taken the day that she was forced from the tower... was he finally able to tell me what had happened to Rachel Roth Grayson... Born December 14th of 2007 - December 14 of 2007.

She was healthy. There was no reason that she had to die. There was no reason for Raven to be taken from the tower. There was no reason for Richard to not have gone to her. It cost him his child's life, and most likely Raven's sanity. Maybe that was why Grant did what he did... to give her the life that Slade had taken away... to give her back the life that should have been protected. Before it was a mission to get Raven back and to her old self, but now... Bruce would protect both his children by doing whatever he had to do. Even if it meant keeping them apart forever...

It was best if Raven stayed the way she was. Without knowledge of who she was, of the power she had, of her soul-mate. It hurt Bruce's soul at the thought but, it was the only way that he could make sure her mind was still safe.


End file.
